Mature adults, including the elderly, typically suffer a decrease in mobility as they age. This may include loss of stability as well as a loss of strength in the lower limbs requiring the use of canes, crutches or the like to permit a person to continue to travel under their own power without the assistance of another person. In addition, some disabled individuals or individuals undergoing rehabilitation therapy may require assistance walking.
Various different types of walkers and stabilization devices have been developed to assist the elderly, as well as individuals recovering from an accident or surgery. For example, Crnkovich (U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,313) discloses an exercise assistance device that uses an upper handle bar connected to a base having four spaced apart wheels. Other examples include Moller (U.S. D501,432), Erfurth (U.S. D277,561), Ferm (U.S. D448,706) and Becker (U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,313). In addition, stabilization devices, such as may be used to assist children to learn to skate, are also known (see for example Jones, US 2003/0148858).
One disadvantage with some of these devices is that they utilize a complicated construction thereby increasing the complexity of the device and the cost of the device. In addition, some of the devices are not well adapted to assist the elderly or incapacitated to walk. For example, they may not provide an enclosure to essentially surround the person using the device, and therefore not offer any side-to-side stability. A further disadvantage of some of these devices is that they do not provide latitude in hand-holds location depending on activity or personal preference of the user. For example, when only a single hand-hold location is provided, the user's posture is typically bent at the waist to push the walker in front, and the user cannot have a preferred erect posture when using these walkers. A further disadvantage of existing walker frames is that they are not designed to provide adequate suspension for mobility over rough outdoor surfaces. Further, some walker frames are not configured to affix accessories such as child carriers, flexible seats, and sun shades in a safe and easy manner.